We’ve covered many instances of airlines not accommodating passengers with food allergies over the years, but one mom simply wasn’t having it.
That brings us to this installment of our popular You Be the Judge series, where we present a food allergy-related scenario and ask you to weigh in and share your opinions with our readership.
A mom recently took matters into her own hands to safeguard her daughter with a severe peanut allergy when aboard a Delta Airlines flight.
She posted homemade signs in nearby rows warning passengers of her daughter’s food allergy, imploring them to please refrain from eating nuts.
The signs read:
My 4-year-old daughter had a life-threatening peanut allergy. Please no nuts during flight time. Thank you for your understanding.
An image of the signs was shared on Reddit in a subreddit for flight attendants:
Imagine this
byu/GoAndGetYourShineBox inflightattendants
The post received dozens of comments ranging from ridicule to support.
So now we turn to you, our readers, who know a thing or two about the dangers of anaphylaxis when flying and the need to keep your kids safe. Did the mom go too far or was she spot on for taking action on her daughter’s behalf? Would you consider doing likewise on your next trip? Should this be the start of a new movement to prod the airlines into action on behalf of the food allergy community?
Let us know in the comments section below.
I would do the same thing. I don’t blame her at all.
So it’s very difficult to fly with a food allergy and can understand why the Mom did this! I recently flew AA and they will not make an announcement or ask others in a buffer zone to refrain from eating nuts. The most shocking comment was that we could get off the plane if we weren’t comfortable because they “can’t discriminate” which is in fact what they were doing. Everyone has the right to breathe safely.
Brilliant! I will do the same!
My only concern would be that somebody would intentionally open up peanuts by her. There are some truly nasty and heartless people in this world. They are either too dumb to realize how dangerous it is and think they are proving a point… or they do realize and just genuinely don’t care.
Out of curiosity, what is your opinion about someone like me, an adult with life-threatening adults to the following (and more)? — dogs (including service animals), tree nuts, shellfish, fin fish, beef, pork, tomato, strawberry/blueberry/blackberry/raspberry, chickpea, kiwi, and pomegranate, with very severe additional allergies to sesame, coconut, banana, and citrus? Some of these absolutely are activated by inhalation and contact. I’m just wondering if you think it would be reasonable for me to behave about my allergies the way parents of kids with peanut allergies do, or whether you now realize that, given the fact that I manage SOOOOO many allergies that have literally landed me intubated in the ICU for weeks at a time (and for which I carry 6+ Epi Pens at all time) that I have to take a lot of steps myself and be reasonable.
Peanuts are actually one of *my* personal safe foods, especially peanut butter on long flights (I can’t safely rely on the airplane food). Additionally, my own autistic son lives with ARFID (feel free to Google it if need be; it is a severe and real condition) and for him, too, peanut butter is one of his own very few forms of nutrtition.
There are myriad ways to protect yourself from anaphylaxis from peanuts and peanut butter on an aircraft. Preboard the flight and wipe down your space. Cover your seat with a cloth like a sheet. Cover your entire body (i.e. wear joggers and a hoodie along with socks and shoes). Wear a high-quality mask, such as an N95 or P100, to reduce your exposure to airborne peanut particles. Take an antihistamine before the flight (ideally a strong prescription antihistamine) and perhaps a second dose during the flight. Bring a portable air purifier to filter the air around your seat, creating a cleaner breathing space. Additionally, apply an allergen barrier balm to your nostrils and lips to block allergens from entering your airways (this can be as simple as petroleum jelly). Keep at least 3 or 4 epinephrine auto-injectors and antihistamines in chewable or liquid form immediately accessible. Yes, it’s absolutely reasonable to look out for yourself and your children, but other passengers have rights, too, and may very well also have very severe allergies as bad or worse than yours. Everyone has needs.
Most people don’t *need* to eat on a flight (unless it’s a long flight) and if they do need to eat, like they have low blood sugar or something, I’m sure they have more options than peanuts. I highly doubt you and your son live by only consuming peanuts. If you can’t abstain from peanut consumption for a few hours then you have a problem… or you are part of the bigger problem of humans just not caring about other humans. If you can look at that 4 year old in her face and say, “No, me eating this peanut butter is more important than your life” you are a sick person.
Also, our allergist said to never ever take an antihistamine like that as it can mask the signs of anaphylaxis until it’s too late.
Thank you. So many idiots who don’t understand. They do not live with it.
I think she could actually use some empathy. Her life hardly seems easy with her limitations. I think she realizes that she can’t ask everyone to avoid her almost 20 allergies, and so she’s asking others to consider alternatives that might exist to avoid completely limiting others. I don’t think she’s saying she would intentionally eat peanut butter out of spite and purposely try to hurt others. Yes, she could pack some alternatives that are safe for her and eat those, and yes, we have to look out for small children, and yes, perhaps those of us who are allergic could consider taking on as as many safety measures as possible just in case.
WAY TO GO!!! Katie GREAT reply to a stubborn OLD GOAT!!! I AGREE with you 100%!!!’
AGREED 100%
As long as the airline provides something safe for me to eat with NO gluten and NO dairy because I am allergic to those. With 15 hour international flights and countries not allowing meat etc there is not much option for some protein rich food that I can bring to eat. Nuts are the obvious easy choice. Provide me something else and I gladly put away the nuts
Let me get this right…. You could live with yourself if you killed a child because you just had to eat nuts?
These are LIFE threatening allergies. Not just GI issues like a gluten allergy. Life threatening anaphylaxis while in the air. An epipen is not a life saving measure, it just gives your body a chance to fight.
I pray you never have a child with a life threatening allergy. It is the most terrifying, helpless feeling in the world and people like you make it even more terrifying.
I carry Benadryl and epi pens all the time. My see has been the ICU multiple times.
One nuts could kill her. Educate yourself.
She didn’t choose this life. She was born this way. If accommodations are made for the handicap, deaf, blind then they should be made for life threatening allergies. It is not that hard to not eat nuts. There are plenty of other food choices.
I still don’t understand why, under the ADA, which severe food allergies fall, that we are still dealing with this! Food allergies are an invisible handicap.
Monika-I agree that those with life threatening allergies to gluten and dairy should also be safe to fly. I will happily put away my sandwich.
I agree with most of your comment. Having a food allergic child is terrifying. Just want to clarify one part. I have had to administer Auvi-Q to my son due to anaphylaxis from eating wheat/gluten. Far more than “just GI issues.” All food allergies are potentially life threatening and gluten is no different. If it’s a true ige mediated allergy and not celiac, the risks are the same as peanuts, tree nuts, or any other allergy. People outside the allergy world often mistakenly believe that peanut allergy is the “worst” allergy because it is most talked about. My son actually outgrew peanut last year, but is still allergic to wheat, dairy, and tree nuts. Milk is by far the most difficult to navigate safely in public. He is contact sensitive. Any food allergy can be deadly.
Too far.
Would everyone be applauding me if I posted a sign asking everyone to abstain due to my child’s anaphylaxis to Dairy and Egg while onboard ?
If your sweet child is touch or airborne reactive then absolutely I would abstain from eating those on the plane!!! And that is how I’ve always thought, long before I watched my own daughter go into anaphylactic shock. I do not want to watch a child die (or anybody for that matter). I definitely wouldn’t want to be the cause of that death because I just “needed” to eat an egg for some random reason knowing that it could hurt somebody. Only a narcissist would think they are more important than somebody else’s life.
Absolutely, I would abstain. People who care for others would abstain.
I can understand why the woman posted this, though I would have initially taken a different approach. I always do pre-boarding and wipe down the area we’re sitting in. I used to also ask the flight attendant if she/he could talk with the surrounding rows. Though I’ve never done this, the woman and her child could introduce themselves to the surrounding rows and explain their situation- I think this is much better than leaving a note.
You can also wear kn95 masks on the plane to protect yourself.
I would do the same thing
While I empathize as we have a peanut allergy, I do feel this has gone too far. If the airline as a business hasn’t enacted such a policy for those with severe allergies or at least made a polite request to others on the plane, then we have to work within the policies they have set forth. I think it’s reasonable to make a polite request (which sounds more like a favor than an imperative), even offering a little substitute treat to the rows around to sweeten the request. I do agree with previous responses that mentioned that other passengers have needs as well, and without any specific policies in place, we have to consider various severe needs with similar consideration. Those of us with one allergy would do well to remember it isn’t the only allergy or need.
As the father of a child with an allergy to peanuts, cashews, and pistachios (with only one anaphylactic incident several years ago and no longer severely allergic to eggs & dairy, lately both thanks to oral immunotherapy), I’d comply with the request. But partly just to have a peaceful flight, while suspecting the request may be more due to the mother’s anxiety than any serious threat to the child. And that’s not to say that I don’t sympathize with the mother. We take my son on long transatlantic or transpacific flights at least once per year and they were extremely stressful before our progress with OIT.
I agree fully! Thank you for the compassion. This mother is fearful and anxious and the note is one of desperation to keep her child safe in the air. Epi is no guarantee…which is why allergists want you to administer and head to your nearest ER. As an allergy parent, I have lived most of her life mitigating risks to keep her safe and applaud this mom for doing just that!
I am extremely sensitive to all that have allergies, and I have always been open to refraining from eating anything that could potentially harm anyone around me; even BEFORE being the mother of a daughter with severe peanut and tree nut allergy. it is very sad that she could not go on her HS trip to Italy because she was SO STRESSED out about flying with her allergies, she’s never flown anywhere and although her teachers did their BEST to assure and reassure her other children like her have gone and been safe; that they would make arrangements with the airlines in advance to make announcements and could wipe down seats, she could wear N95 mask; it wasn’t enough to CONVINCE her that she would be SAFE. She missed out on a GREAT opportunity because she was so ANXIOUS that she got herself SICK and couldn’t go …. I feel terrible my CHILD may never want to fly anywhere. Its BEYOND SAD domestic airlines in our country are not as compliant as much as international airlines- I AGREE we need to ADVOCATE more with our airlines, and I applaud the international airlines for their great efforts to care enough about their clients travelling abroad, BRAVO!!
I think there should be a mandate for all flights. Children with food allergies did not ask to have this severe medical condition and they advocate daily for themselves. They need to live life like others, it’s difficult enough that they need to worry about their lives. We need more support for our children do they can feel normal!
yes ALL people with allergies, children or adults xo
A family member has experienced people being good and people being awful, both flight attendants and passengers. It’s a shame there isn’t a uniform policy of empathy. They work so hard to accommodate people in wheelchairs, and everyone cooperates to wait to board. Why can’t that be a model? The airlines do virtually nothing to help people with life threatening food allergies. And passengers are a complete gamble on behaviors.
Xolair has been very helpful by the way in reducing some anxiety during flights from airborne contaminants. It remains to be seen though how effective it will be. There still is a need for care.
I would agree with the comment that I would be concerned someone that is not so compassionate or understanding would create a more dangerous situation being asked in this way or the airline staff would have a problem with it creating a bigger and more tense situation.
I don’t think I would do this, but we do take measures. Preboard, wipe down, cover on the seat… we like the back row so there are no people behind us as well. We take $5 Starbucks gift cards and ask the row in front of us and beside us to please not eat peanuts because our son is severely allergic and we have gift cards for any inconvenience it may cause. NO one has ever accepted them and has always been very kind and understanding. We used to have him mask and wear a shield when we first started flying. Now that he is nearing graduation at TIP and is up to 18 peanuts a day, we don’t have him wear those. Always 4 epipens too. It’s tough out there, but I think we just all try to do our best.